A newly formed International Coalition on the Detention of Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Migrants is urging the government to set up an independent mechanism to monitor conditions inside detention centres.

Set up in Rome last week, the international detention coalition is made up of more than 100 organisations and individuals in 36 countries who have come together to share information on detention in their countries and promote better respect for the rights of detainees.

At a news conference yesterday, local non-governmental organisations forming part of the coalition - the Jesuit Faith and Justice Centre, Graffitti, Integra Foundation, Jesuit Refugee Service Malta, Koperattiva Kummerc Gust, Kopin, the Third World Group and Stop Poverty! - urged the authorities to set up the kind of monitoring mechanism that the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment calls for.

Malta was the first state to sign and ratify the convention which came into force yesterday.

Speaking on behalf of the Maltese NGOs, Paul Pace, who is also the director of JRS Malta, said the coalition's main aims were to prevent or limit the use of detention, advocate alternatives to detaining refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, promote respect for detainees and encourage the use of best practice in detention procedures.

On the detention policy in Malta, Fr Pace said the greatest concern was still that since the national conference held a year ago, the physical conditions faced by illegal immigrants in detention remained poor as well as the manner in which the detention policy is implemented.

The NGOs said other issues included the lack of judicial supervision of detention and the procedure of identification, assessment and release of vulnerable detainees, which was still lengthy and inadequate.

JRS assistant director Katrine Camilleri said that in certain cases illegal immigrants had to wait for weeks after the maximum detention period of 18 months expired because of faults in the system. Some were not released because they had not cooperated with the authorities while others were made to wait because their medical screening was unduly postponed.

Certain practices, such as detaining women with men, were not acceptable, she added.

Dr Camilleri said certain alternatives to detention were already in place locally. Vulnerable migrants, like families, people with a disability, pregnant women and unaccompanied minors, were usually taken to open centres as soon as they arrived. Moreover, all detained migrants were being released and allowed to live in the community after 12 months.

"Unless strictly necessary, asylum seekers should not be detained. The authorities could impose reporting requirements and oblige migrants to sign regularly at a police station, for example," Dr Camilleri said.

The NGOs said the exclusion of journalists from detention centres did not help the public to get to know migrants and their suffering.

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